This is the very first bumble honey bee I’ve seen this entire year. And it’s weighed down with pollen, finally taking care of the tomato flowers. There’s been a zillion flowers, but with no bees, there are very few tomatoes that develop, mostly because of the work of one or two of what I call tomato wasps. Here’s the result of their work, the third harvested so far this year:
I couldn’t get a picture of a bee actively busy with the October Bean flowers below. With these, the bees and hummingbirds can entrench in mortal combat. Quite the entertainment.
Right now, the October Beans have run out of fence, itself starting about 1 or 2 feet off the ground, and are reaching high up into the sky, a good six feet higher than the string beans, which themselves are a bushy two feet high.
I’m thinking that that’s no bumble bee, but rather an Italian version of the honey bee. They must have heard my complaint about there being no bees around, as they were here in great numbers this morning all over the string beans and squarrrsh:
Meanwhile: sqarrrsh:
Here’s one with a bee:
So far, here’s one of many of the results so far:
Another bee:
Oops! That’s a cicada. I was wondering what that hole in the ground, very deep, was all about.
Anyone else with a prepper garden? Or just a garden?
Either way, it’s good for the soul, and delicious.
And it’s a chance to say Hail Marys for the souls in purgatory.
A flower for you, Mary: Hail Mary…
ARISE! LET US BE GOING! 
My sweet daughter plants a garden when she and family visit for several weeks late Spring and I get to take care of it. She lives on base, 5 children and no dirt, so she relishes coming to plant her garden, which I faithfully water. I send her pictures of the progress, but they ain’t as pretty as yours!
Also, a friend started with two hives for honey bees. Did you know they are considered “livestock”? They are fascinating.
Beautiful Father! My grandmother grew vegetables, beautiful flowers, had the “touch”. I didn’t get that gene! She would tell me that God lived in everything, big and small. I love to see your photos, a beautiful reminder of God. Thanks for making me smile.
That tomato looks scrumptious … I can almost taste it!
More flowers (a variety of colours best) will help attract more bees and other pollinators as well as good insects to ward off the bad kind. The following flowers are said to be particularly bee attractant: Agastache “Licorice Blue”; Bergamot aka Bee Balm; Blue Borage, said to be a favourite of bee-keepers; Cornflowers; Cosmos; Marigold “Alumia Vanilla Cream”; Phacelia Tanacetifolia; Poppies; Sweet Alyssum “Carpet of Snow”; and Sweet Mace aka “Mexican Tarragon’”.
These gardening posts always make me wish I had grown up on a farm. The closest I ever came to gardening, myself, was when I decided to start a spice “garden” in a single 2-foot planter on my terrace, planted with basil, rosemary, and thyme – which I quickly forgot about (a common failing which prompted my parents to keep me from having my own pet, as a child!).
Months later, finally remembering my “garden,” I went back to my desolate terrace to find three huge (to me anyway) bushes that obviously had The Lord for their gardener. I felt like the sorcerer’s apprentice – “What the?”
This was so long ago, that I have forgotten “the rest of the story.”
I love that cicada photo – they are such amazing creatures.